


Ten Paces

by Tashilover



Series: Linked Universe [19]
Category: Linked Universe-Fandom
Genre: Fighting, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27341047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: "Is that all you got, soldier? Cheap tricks, is it?"A Linked Universe fic.
Series: Linked Universe [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1258721
Comments: 60
Kudos: 374





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of this fanart piece here: https://tashilover.tumblr.com/post/633637937565794304/nocturnal-moon-zelda-and-one-more-before-i-go-to#permalink-notes
> 
> Be sure to check out the rest of their work, it's totally awesome!

Warning: Crotch shots

"Fight me."

Wild startled. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," said Warriors. "I've taken my licks and given just as much with the others, but you and me? We haven't sparred yet. Knight vs knight, it's just too good not to indulge in."

Wild shook his head at him. "We've only just stopped. I haven't even started a fire yet for dinner and you want to fight _now?_ Why now?"

"Main reason?" Warriors said. "I'm bored. We've been walking non-stop for the past few days. Barely no monsters to fight-"

"That's a _good_ thing."

"-and the quiet of it all has made me really think. You're the only other military man in our little group. That makes you and me brothers in arms. I think we should spar, see how our training differs. It'll be fun."

"What's in it for me?" Wild asked. "Besides bleeding cuts and blacken eyes? I'm not in the mood to cook dinner and nurse a bruised rib."

Warriors pursed his lips, considering. He then reached into his bag and pulled out the Fire Rod, holding it out towards Wild. "I'll give you this."

Wild's eyes lit up and he immediately reached for it.

"Nuh-huh!" Warriors snatched the Rod back, wagging his finger. " _If_ you win, you can have this. However, if _I_ win, I want the story on that little Gerudo dress you have in your bag. So... do we have a deal?"

For a moment it looked as if the kid wasn't going to agree. Warriors could see the gears moving in his head, weighing the pros and cons. When the moment stretched on, Warriors twisted the Rod slowly, letting the ruby jewel on top to catch the sunlight. Wild watched it greedily and that's when Warriors knew he had him.

"Deal."

Warriors hummed himself a jaunty little tune as he adjusted his arm guards. He tugged on his chain mail, making sure it was snug and in place, then turned around to face his opponent. He's been itching for a good fight. He's sparred with the other heroes in simple training sessions, testing each other's skills and might. Many of them were incredible fighters, using their own techniques and abilities to their advantage. Warriors was impressed by each and every one of them.

He's never fought Wild though. The last time they tried to spar, the kid prematurely broke his sword and didn't have a replacement. By that point, the heroes had learned not to give him any of their items, so the fight had to end before it even started. Warriors was disappointed to say the least. Wild was a master with a bow, but Warriors rarely seen him use a sword in battle. This should be an interesting fight.

From the corner of his eye Warriors noticed Twilight approaching.

"Great," Warriors said, sneering. "The babysitter is here."

"I need to talk to you," said Twilight.

"Of course you do. Well, c'mon then. Give me the speech."

Twilight scowled. "I only need to say one thing. Don't push him."

"Or else what?"

"There is no _or else_. You will follow this."

"Oh my god!" Warriors said, laughing. "Listen to yourself! We're having a simple sparring match and you're acting like I'm planning to break him over my knee! He's not a child. He's a Hero chosen by the Goddess."

"He's also a traumatized teenager who doesn't remember ninety percent of his life! Just... look..." Twilight pitched his voice low. "Not every memory flashback he gets results in him reliving it. I've seen him. When he's in battle... when he focuses... he's capable of absolute _wonders_. I've seen him take down a moblin within a blink of an eye. If you push him, he _will_ respond and I cannot guarantee you'll walk away from this intact."

"I know you're saying that to discourage me," said Warriors. "But honestly, it's getting me more hype to fight him."

Twilight's groaned. "Goddamn it."

"You've had your say, now let me have mine..." Warriors stepped closer, getting close to Twilight's face. "Don't interfere with my soldier, Ranch Hand."

"He's not your soldier-!"

Warriors shoved a finger in his face, cutting him off. "Oh, yes he is. You're not the only one looking out for him. I've been both a mentor and a father figure to _dozens_ of young men just like him, and part of the growth I instill in them is treating them like _men_ , not coddled children. _Back off_. I won't say it again."

Warrior gave Twilight credit; the man didn't so much as flinch at his words. Warriors was proud of him for that- not that he'd ever tell him. Twilight held his steady gaze for a second longer, then took a step back, offering these last words. "If you break him, he'll break you."

Warriors smirked. "I welcome the challenge."

Their chosen battle ground had been recently hit with a wild fire. Perhaps a wandering traveler had not put out their campfire properly or maybe the surrounding dry grass had been hit by lightening. Either way, the earth was scorched, leaving a good fifty food radius of blacken ground. As Warriors walked upon it, his boots kicked up ash.

"You ready, kid?" Warriors called out.

Wild came forth. In his right hand he carried his sword, a simple one-handed broadsword. Not particularly durable, though strong enough to crack through armor if handled right. In his left he carried a traveler's shield, and to this Warriors grimaced. This shield was more decorative than useful as protection. The next time the group came across a town, Warriors was going to buy Wild a decent shield.

To their right the peanut gallery sat and watched. Majority of them hooted and jeered, clapping their hands and yelling "Kick his ass!" The only two who didn't join in on the hollering was Time, who was watching with silent curiosity, and Twilight, who crossed his arms and stood straight, looking like he was ready join in if prompted.

"I want that Rod!" Wild called out.

Warriors drew his sword. "Come at me then!"

The two closed the distance, their feet kicking up ash into puffs of dark clouds. Their first clash of swords pushed against each other, locking in, becoming a test of strength instead of skill. Warriors kept pressing forward, using his height to dominate. He lunged, forcing Wild to stumble back several steps.

"That was easy!" Warriors said to him. "C'mon now, let's give the people a good show!"

Wild glared at him, re-positioned his feet and came at him again.

The second clash was better. Wild moved with elegance, meeting Warrior's sword strikes with impressive skill. Warriors took note on every step Wild took, every tightening of his jaw. And when the timing was right, Warriors dodged an attack, stuck his foot out, and tripped the boy.

Wild fell with a cry of alarm and face-planted on the burnt forest floor. He coughed and sputtered, pushing himself up quickly. His face and the entirety of his front was grey with ash. Warriors laughed at the sight. "How does _that_ taste?"

Wild grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped at his face, tossing it aside once done. "You're really pissing me off, here..."

"Oh?" Warriors threw a sly glance over to Twilight. "Am I?"

"Are you playing with me or are you taking this seriously?"

Warriors looked back at him, the smirk disappearing. "I don't know, are _you_ taking this seriously? I've already tripped you twice now. You have so many openings, it's actually quite sad. What, did you _forget_ how to fight?"

At the emphasis, Wild straightened, his lips going thin. High above, the clouds passed over, casting their battle arena into shadows. The golden color of Wild's honey wheat hair dimmed to that of damp wood, and the leftover ash surrounding Wild's eyes darkened.

The wording didn't go unnoticed by the group either. They collectively winced, all of their good cheer evaporating. "Not cool..." one of them muttered.

"That," Wild said in a cold, calm voice. "Was a low blow."

"It's only a blow if you _hit me!_ "

Wild came at him again, running so fast his feet barely made sound. The flat, cold look didn't leave Wild's face, and Warriors grinned in triumph. He readied himself, wanting to see what the kid was truly capable of. The moment he got close, Warriors struck out-

_Pain._

Warriors staggered back, spitting out curses as sudden hot horrific pain struck his body. He could feel blows upon his torso, his arms, legs, back- his fucking _dick._ Did Wild seriously hit him in the goddamn crotch? He couldn't see what was happening, only feel it.

Instinct and muscle memory kicked in, and Warriors managed to get his shield up, blocking the next blow, allowing him a chance to move back and away. Wild let him, his face still stone cold.

"What-?" Warriors started, then he hunched over, feeling like he was about to throw up and gagged. The strikes against his stomach and his crotch nauseated him, the added pain not helping. When he managed to gain back his breath, he said, "How'd... how'd you move so fast?"

Wild said nothing.

Warriors looked over to Twilight. He expected the man to be smug. Instead, Twilight's skin had paled and his mouth turned into a deep frown. _He's scared,_ Warriors thought, and straightened, turning back to Wild. "So, are you going to tell me what you did or are you just going to stand there and look pretty?"

Wild said nothing.

Now this Warriors didn't like. He was used to yelling, cursing, anger and threats. He knew how to handle emotions when they run high. Sometimes soldiers just needed to take their rage out on someone, and Warriors always offered himself, letting his men tire themselves out. Except there was nothing on Wild's face. No emotion, no life. Not even blush from exertion tickled his cheeks. Was Warriors facing the same person right now?

"Are you going to answer me, kid?" Warriors asked. When silence reigned on, Warriors pulled out the Fire Rod. "You still want this?"

Wild lifted his chin.

"Then come take it," Warriors said and thrusted the Rod towards him. From the side he heard Legend yell, _"No, you idiot!"_ right before a giant blast of fire shot out like an explosion. The force of it pushed Warriors back and he dug in his heels. The ash beneath retained no friction, letting him slide a good ten feet. The Rod's ruby jewel burned brightly as sweat poured down Warrior's face.

He barely had the flame going for ten seconds when he suddenly saw something from above. He glanced up, and coming down on top of him with sword pointed straight at his head was Wild.

_How'd he get above me? How did he-?_

Warriors wrenched the Rod up in a desperate attempt to block the sword strike, the flame puttering off. The sword struck the ruby gem, cracking it, a chunk of the top portion flying off. The Rod deflected the sword strike, but it did nothing to stop Wild's decent, and he fell upon Warriors, slamming the both of them to the ash floor. Wild knees fell on top of Warrior's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Warriors could barely move. His only thoughts were to get air in his lungs, and Wild's weight on his chest wasn't helping. Finally, Wild shifted his legs, allowing Warriors to gasp and moan in pain.

"Give up," said Wild.

Warriors assessed the position he was in. On his back. Chest burning. His weapon broken, the sword still embedded in the cracked ruby. As much as Warriors wanted to admit Wild's win, the prize was _broken._ Warriors doubted even their master blacksmith could fix such a magical item. Warriors tried to sit up and explain this when suddenly Wild grabbed him by the throat, slamming him back down. Warriors groaned as a knee found itself a touch too close to his already-aching crotch, digging in to hold him down.

"Give up," he said again.

"Is that all you got, soldier?" Warriors said, gasping. This wasn't a proud moment, not for him nor Wild. "Cheap tricks, is it?"

Wild barely reacted. "Whatever works."

 _"That's enough!"_ Time stepped forward, his voice booming out. "This fight was ugly and cruel, and I am disappointed in both of you. This should have never gotten this far! The Rod is broken, so nobody wins."

Warriors couldn't deny that. He really did want a gentleman's duel. The goal of wanting Wild to prove to his mentor he wasn't some fragile kitten was simply a bonus. Warriors didn't know what spurred him into goading the kid in such a way. His grip around the broken Rod went limp. "You heard the old man," said Warriors. "Get off me."

The knee against his hip suddenly shifted directly onto his crotch, pressing down so hard it felt like Warriors was kicked in the chest again. He gave out a breathless gasp as blinding pain erupted up his spine, whiting out his eyes. When he thought he was about to pass out, the pressure lifted. The white in Warrior's eyes faded away.

Twilight had grabbed Wild by the scuff of his shirt, hauling him up and away as Warriors curled in on himself.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, alright, get off me!" Wild wrenched his arm out of Twilight's grip. "You don't need to manhandle me."

"Clearly I do," Twilight snapped at him. "Was was that back there? I've never seen you act like that before."

Wild huffed. "Act like a bitch, get treated like a bitch."

"You went too far."

"You warned him, didn't you?" Wild said. He cocked his head. "My big ol' protector of mine. Always taking charge even when nobody wants him."

A long silence followed. Twilight was aware he was over protective, but he always thought Wild _liked_ that, having someone fuss over him. Perhaps Warriors was right: he treated Wild too much like a child and it came off as insulting. "If you feel I've been stepping over boundaries-"

 _"Stepping over?"_ Wild echoed back with a sneer. "HA! You've been skipping over that line like you were jumping rope! The man wanted a fight and I gave it to him. If he gets hurt then that was his fault. You had no right to pull me off like that."

"A friendly spar doesn't have you shoving your knee into his crotch!"

"He started it when he tried to _fry me alive,_ or did you forget that?"

The two heroes stared at each for a long moment.

"The end doesn't justify the means," said Twilight. "He was defeated and you chose to continue to hurt him. That is unacceptable behavior."

Wild rolled his eyes. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Twilight grabbed him by the arm, halting him. "You don't get to walk away from this."

Wild stopped but didn't turn around. "Back off," he said in a warning tone.

"What-? You're really going to act like a child-"

Wild suddenly twisted his arm out of Twilight's grip, swung around and was in his face within a blink of an eye.

 _"Back off!"_ Wild snapped at him. _"I won't say it again."_

Twilight's eyes grew wide. He stepped back and away. "Kiddo... you-"

Wild didn't bother to hear what he had to say. He huffed and stalked off, mumbling to himself as he disappeared into the surrounding forest.

Warriors poked at the cut on the side of his mouth with his tongue, wincing when it continued to spill blood. In his hand he held a cool wet rag. The tip of it was stained pink. He pressed it back against the cut, grumbling. "How long until that red potion is done?"

Legend sat by a cooking pot. He was busy measuring out medicinal herbs. "Hold your horses. I'm not a apothecary, so this isn't an easy thing to make."

"Cook faster," Warriors said. "My ribs feel like shit."

Legend hummed. "I hope they do. Bad enough you were willing to give away my Fire Rod, but then you went ahead and broke it!"

"I didn't break it, Wild did."

"You provoked him."

"I pushed him out of his comfort zone. This is the problem with you guys. You all keep treating him like he's fragile glass. I think I made it clear today he can handle himself. Now all he needs to do is learn how to control that energy and channel it into something productive."

Legend barked out an obnoxious laugh. "Man, listen to the self-indulgence _lies_ you're touting! Don't act like you started this fight as a favor to him or you wanted to pass on brotherly wisdom- you did this because you were _bored._ And when you saw how the fight was going, you decided to push him to make it more interesting. Nothing you did was in his best interests and you know it."

Warriors made a face. "Why are you so defensive of him?"

"I'm not. I just know bullshit when I see it."

"Please. If he is that easily triggered when someone makes fun-"

"Mocks," Legend corrected.

"-of his memory loss, then he's going to find himself in a heap of trouble. I could've been a random citizen or some drunkard in the street. Better we find out now how he reacts than later in a village somewhere."

Legend stared at him in disbelief. "Wars... have you actually looked at him? I mean... really _look_ at him?"

"What are you on about?"

"That pretty face of his? Those scars? Every time we walk into a new town Twilight has to chaperone him otherwise half of the men there will try something. Are you going to sit there and think this is the _first_ time someone has said such things to him? Trust me, he's heard much worse."

Warriors frowned and thought about this. He'll admit the few times when they entered a new village to stock up on supplies he noticed Twilight and Wild going off together. He just assumed it was their dynamic. The babysitter and the baby. He'd never thought much further than that.

His split lip didn't hurt so much now. "If he has such thick skin, then why did he react like this with me?"

 _"Because he values your opinion, you moron._ You wanted him to toughen up, so he toughened up, and now you're whining because your balls got crushed."

Warriors grumbled. His heart wasn't in it though.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Legend continued to make the potion. At the sound of footsteps approaching, Warriors sat up straight, wondering if Wild was coming back.

It was Twilight. He had a sour look on his face, his thick brows furrowing in frustration. He scanned the camp, spotted Warriors, and made a beeline straight towards him, his hands curling into fists.

Twilight wasn't the type to throw sucker punches. Still, Warriors straightened, readying for a fight. "Hey, man, look-"

"You're going to fix this," Twilight interrupted. He still had clenched fists but he made no aggressive move. "I don't care if he punches you in the dick again, you will make this right."

"I..." Warriors bit down on his protest. He sighed. "Alright, fine. But what makes you think he will even listen to me?"

"Because he values your opinion."

From behind Twilight, Legend continued to stir the cooking pot, but now had a large smug grin plastered on his face.


End file.
